Reading Deathly Hallows Years Later
by Irishgirl14
Summary: Almost six years after the final battle, all the Weasleys and their spouses with a few guests gather to read about the trio's seventh year.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

It was March 1, 2004, nearly six years since the final battle and the demise of Voldemort. All the Weasley children, except Charlie, were now happily married. Luna and Neville were engaged to Rolf and Hannah respectively. Ginny's and Angelina's due dates were fast approaching. Kingsley had revolutionized the Ministry and was still Minister of Magic. McGonagall was currently Headmistress of Hogwarts, which had been lovingly rebuilt to its former glory even though a few scars still remained. Everyone was moving on.

The family was gathered for Ron's birthday. His parents, Hermione, Harry and Ginny, George and Angelina, Percy and Audrey, Bill and Fleur, Neville and Hannah, Luna and Rolf, and Charlie had all gathered to celebrate with the now 24-year-old. Young Teddy and Victoire were spending the day at Andromeda's so that the adults could have some time to themselves.

They were all sitting outside the Burrow enjoying the rare spring weather and just being all together again. Ron had begun opening his gifts several minutes earlier. As he reached the bottom of the fairly large pile, he reached for the last present, looked at the card attached to the top, and tilted his head in confusion. "I thought this was supposed to be my birthday party," he said half-jokingly, "Why has someone given me a present I have to share with Harry and Hermione?" He looked around at his family and friends. All of them looked just as confused as he was.

"What are you talking about, Ron?" Ginny questioned her brother.

"This gift. It's addressed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. My name's not even listed first," explained Ron fake-pouting at the end.

Harry, who had never been able to completely get rid of the voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Mad-Eye, immediately took in the faces around him. He could tell that they were all genuinely confused. None of them had given this present to Ron. "Ron, don't touch it!" he said quickly, drawing his friend's attention. "No one here sent it. It could be dangerous."

Ron instantly dropped the package which made a loud thud as it hit the table. Everyone stood up and backed away from it, the men taking protective stances in front of their wives/ fiancés. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had their wands out, prepared for the worst to happen. Harry signaled to his friends to search the surrounding area with their eyes as he moved forward to cast spells on the gift to check for Dark Magic. Finding none, he said, "It's not Dark." He placed his wand back in his pocket and carefully reached out to pick up the package. Closer now, he saw that there was more on the note than just their names.

TO HARRY, RON, AND HERMIONE:

READ THIS NOTE BEFORE OPENING THE PACKAGE.

THIS NOTE IS FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.

YOU MIGHT WISH TO GO SOMEWHERE PRIVATE.

~A FRIEND~

Harry turned to his friends. "The note says it's for our eyes only." The three looked at each other, communicating with their eyes as they so often did. Harry turned back to his family. "Go ahead and sit down and relax. Eat some cake. We'll—"

But Ron interrupted. "Don't eat all of the cake though. It's mine, so I should get some of it."

Hermione snorted. "You never change, do you?"

"You wouldn't want me any other way, would you?"

"No."

Harry just looked at them for a few seconds as they stared into each other's eyes. He turned to look at Molly. "Don't worry, Mum. We'll be back outside soon." As Molly used her wand to right the chairs that had tumbled over in the family's haste to back away from the possibly dangerous gift, Harry motioned to Neville. "If we're not back out in ten minutes, come looking," he whispered quickly. Neville looked at him and nodded. Harry smiled back at his "lieutenant" as the trio had taken to calling him, Ginny, and Luna.


	2. Chapter 2

Please don't expect updates this often on a usual bases. I don't have a lot of time to work on my stories. What college student does?

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CHAPTER TWO

Harry and Ron followed Hermione into the Burrow. She led them upstairs to the attic room that had used to house Ron and Harry in the summer but now housed Ron and Hermione when they stayed overnight. Once the door was shut, Harry slowly tore the folded note off of the package, aware that Ron and Hermione had their wands ready in case. He opened the note and read aloud:

Dear Harry, Ron, and Hermione,

First, thank you for following instructions. I was sure you would look at it by yourselves first, but one can never be too sure about these things. Second, thank you for all that you've done. I'm glad that Harry has finally found a true family and that all of you are creating your own. I'm sure Molly will love gaining many grandchildren in the next few years. (Don't worry yourselves about how I know this; it doesn't really matter.) Anyways, the reason I wanted you three to read this note in private was because it is your choice whether or not to open the gift I have sent you. I will tell you now that it is a book. (Before you groan, Ron, just wait.) It is a book that details, from Harry's perspective, your hunt for the horcruxes, from the Dursleys leaving Privet Drive to Harry repairing his wand. I know that you have been struggling for a while about how to tell your family what happened. They know the basics, but you've wanted to tell them the complete truth for awhile now. Here's your chance, no thinking involved. "What decision do we have to make?" you may ask. You have to decide if you truly want them to know everything. Do you want them to know about Ron's departure, Hermione's torture, and the horcrux inside Harry? This is what you must ask yourself. Once you open the package containing the book, time will freeze, and there is no turning back. Once you open the package, you must read the book from whichever point you wish to start to the end without skipping. You'll need to write the names of all who are going to participate on the back of this paper so that the spell will include them. Choose wisely.

~A Friend~

P.S. Might I suggest (and I know that this won't please some of you or your family) that you invite Draco and his fiancé. You should perhaps also invite McGonagall, Hagrid, and Kingsley. (As time will stop while you read, they will not be missed at their jobs.) Again, though, it is your choice.

P.P.S. Time stopping will not negatively affect Ginny's or Angelina's pregnancy. The babies might just be born a little "early" once time resumes.

The three heroes looked at each other in shock. They sat in silence for a few minutes just looking at each other. Harry broke the silence first. "We're going to need some time to discuss this aren't we?" he asked the other two. They nodded. "Expecto Patronum." Harry sent his patronus with a message to Neville; it told him that they were all safe and that they just needed several more minutes to discuss something. Then he turned back to face the two most important people in his life, after Ginny of course. "So?"

"We've been talking about telling them for months now. We were going to tell them," Hermione reasoned.

Ron retorted, "But not all the details. We were never going to tell them everything."

"Ron, I know that we've kept some things about that year a secret for so long, but I really think that they, of all people, deserve to know. We are their family after all," Hermione talked slow and quiet, hoping to not put him on the defensive.

"They're going to hate me," he whispered. He had told them this before, and they had tried to tell him differently, but he wouldn't hear of it. They looked at each other, silently deciding who would speak.

"That's not true. Are you going to hide the truth that you walked away from our family forever? What happens when they find out? When Bill or Fleur or Hermione or I or you slip up, accidentally mention it? Don't you think they'll be more mad that you hid it from them than that you left?" Harry questioned his friend.

"Yes," Ron grudgingly admitted.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other and decided to give Ron a reprieve. Hermione told them her opinion. "I'm alright with reading it. I'm not thrilled about re-living that awful year, but I think I'm ready. I'm ready for our family to know. I'm tired of hiding things from them. If we can't tell them, who can we tell?"

"Hermione's right," Harry agreed. "I think they need to know and we need for them to know. I've seen it in the way they look at us. They're confused by the changes in us. They don't understand them. And they're not going to unless we tell them exactly what happened."

Ron spoke again. "What if they do hate me?"

"They w—" Hermione started to say.

But Harry interrupted her, knowing that that wasn't the answer Ron wanted. "If they hate you, and neither Hermione nor I think they will, then they'll have to deal with us. They have no right to hate you for it; the only people who do are us two, and we don't. If they hate you, Ron, we will pick you over them. We won't abandon you and leave you to face our family alone. We will be there for you to yell at them and tell them to stop being humongous gits."

Harry's words seemed to do the job; Ron looked calmer and less conflicted. Hermione just shook her head; even after marrying him, there are still things that only Harry understands about him. _I'll learn_, she told herself.

"You'd really stand up to the family for me?" Ron asked, not daring to believe it.

"Of course." This time it was Hermione who spoke, knowing that he needed affirmation from both of them but especially her.

Harry added, "Yeah."

It took a few moments for Ron to decide. "I'm okay with reading the book, but I think we ought to ask the family if they want to. We shouldn't force them to; it'll be more painful for them than us. We at least know what's coming."

"Ron's right," Hermione said. "Before that though, what about the people listed in the P.S.? Do we want to invite them?"

"I think Kingsley should be invited for sure," Harry said with no room for argument. "He was a member of the Order then and is Minister of Magic now. He's earned the right to know."

Ron nodded. "I think McGonagall and Hagrid deserve to know too. They were both in the Order and, though Professor McGonagall rarely showed it, they both care for us and were surely worried the whole year."

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

Hermione had been quiet during the short exchange, thinking. "I think we should listen to the note and invite Draco," she said quietly, knowing her words would set off Ron and maybe Harry.

"What?!" Ron nearly shouted. "What do you want to invite him for?"

Though they fought less often now, their fights still weren't pretty. Harry intervened. "I think we should invite him too. As loath as I am to admit it, he did try to help us twice, at Malfoy Manor and in the Room of Requirement. Besides that, he needs to know the true monster Voldemort was. He'll never understand completely if he doesn't hear the truth."

Ron considered Harry's thinking for a few seconds. "Oh, alright. I want it known that I'm not happy about it, and I'm not sitting by him. And if he says one thing out of line, I'll—"

"Ronald," Hermione stopped. "Really, you shouldn't hold a grudge. You don't want to become like Snape, do you?"

Harry had to stop himself from laughing at the look on Ron's face. He knew Ron would never turn out like Snape, but he also knew that Hermione had said that so he would understand what she was trying to tell him. _They're so good together, _he thought to himself not for the first time. "Let's go back outside and explain to the family," he told them.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer (Forgot this the last chapters): None of the characters or bold text is mine!

Please don't expect updates this often on a usual bases. I don't have a lot of time to work on my stories. What college student does?

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

The three got up and walked downstairs and back outside to join their family once again. Arthur spoke when he noticed them. "Is everything alright?" He, along with most of the family, had noticed that something was off about the three of them.

"Everything's fine," Harry said. "The gift is actually for all of us in a way." Here, he stopped, looking at Hermione to explain. She was the best at things like this after all.

"The gift," she began, "is a book that details, from Harry's perspective, the last year of the war, the year that should have been our seventh year."

The shock on the family's faces mirrored the look that the trio wore around twenty minutes ago. Bill was the first to recover. "Are we going to read it?" He knew that it would talk about his youngest brother's greatest shame and was sure Ron did not want his whole family to hear about it.

To Bill's surprise, the brother in question answered in a strong voice. "Yes, if you want to."

The family knew now what had taken the trio so long in the house. Though they had no proof, they were sure that there were things that happened on their trip that they didn't want to talk about. They must have spent time deciding if it was alright with them before they even presented the option to their family. Now, the ball had been passed.

Harry could see mixed emotions coloring his family's faces, so he said, "It's not an all or nothing thing. If some of you want to and some of you don't, that's alright." He paused. "Just think about it for a while."

He walked over to Ginny, who looked set in her decision. She saw him approach and braced herself. "You're not going to change my mind," she told him without looking at him.

"I don't expect to, and I don't really want to. I want you to know. You deserve to know," he returned, knowing that this was not what she was expecting.

Ginny was startled by his words but quickly recovered. "If you didn't come over here to try to talk me out of reading the book, then why did you?"

"Because," Harry whispered as he leaned in close to his wife, "I wanted to warn you."

"Warn me? Of what?" she whispered back.

He looked up into her eyes. _I can never get enough of her eyes._ "You're not going to like this book." He stopped. "I won't like this book," he said to himself so quietly that even Ginny, as close as she was, could barely hear his words.

Ginny, knowing that he needed her reassurance, leaned in and kissed him. "We'll make it through together, like always."

Harry pulled away with a smile. "You always know how to make me feel better." Ginny smiled back. "I'm going to go talk to George now."

Ginny fake pouted. "Oh, so you like him more than me, do you?"

"Of course," he joked back before he turned away and walked away motioning to George, who joined him.

"What did you need, Harry?" George asked.

Harry hesitated. _Surely, he knows. He can't not know._ But Harry knew that he had to make sure. "George, before you make your choice, you need to know that…" again he hesitated, "…that I was there when…Fred…died. It will be in the book." He didn't know what else to say so he just stopped talking, watching George.

George looked down. Angelina, who had been watching George and Harry, joined them, quietly supporting her husband. George looked up at her when she wrapped her arm around him. Looking back towards Harry, he said, "Thanks for warning me, Harry. I didn't remember. At least now I won't be caught off guard when it comes."

Harry understood what George was unable to express in words. He re-joined Hermione and Ron. "We'll need to decide who's going to get the others," he told them. "It'd be best if I got Draco, and I should probably get Kingsley too."

"I don't want you going to Malfoy Manor alone, Harry," Hermione fretted. "One of us will go with you."

Harry knew this would come up. He tried to think of the most tactful way to say this. "If Ron's there, Draco will be more likely to go on the defensive, and I'm not letting you go back, Hermione. I'm sure that it wouldn't be helpful to you."

Hermione was about to speak but was interrupted by Arthur. "I think we've all reached our decision," he directed at the trio.

They walked a few steps to join the family. Not saying anything, they waited for the decisions. Arthur started. "Molly and I will read." And, going around the circle that had been formed, they all said they would read.

The trio had expected some of them to want to read but not all of them. Surprised, Harry asked, "All of you? You _all_ want to read?"

George answered him. "Of course we _all_ do. You're our family, and we need to know what happened to our family that affected them so much. We love you, and we want to help you. But we can't help you if we don't know what happened."

The three had no response to that. There was a few minutes of silence until Harry said, "We're going to invite Kingsley, McGonagall, and Hagrid to read as well." They all nodded. He turned to Ron and Hermione. "You two go to Hogwarts, explain the situation, and accompany them here." They started to interrupt, but Harry kept talking. Mustering his Gryffindor bravery and turning back to the family, he said in a voice that left no room for argument, "We're going to invite Draco too." George's and Ginny's face showed the most outrage, but Harry put a stop to their complaints before they even began. "No. Ron, Hermione, and I have discussed it and have decided that he needs to understand the true monster that Voldemort was, and this is the best way to do that." Seeing that his family had grudgingly agreed, he continued. "I'll go and get him."

Hermione would not be quiet any longer. "Harry James Potter, you are not going to get Draco alone; someone else can go to Hogwarts, and we will go with you," she said indicating Ron and herself.

Harry prepared himself to fight it out with her. "No. Neither of you are going for reasons I have already explained to you."

Hermione made to retort, but Luna beat her to it. "I'll go." Everyone turned to look at her. "Well, obviously someone should go with him. Ron can't go, because he and Draco hate each other. And Hermione shouldn't return to Malfoy Manor."

"Neither should you, Luna," Harry told her sincerely.

"I'll go," Neville said. "I'm the best choice.'

"Neville, you'll be more comfortable staying here. And if I go, Draco won't consider me a threat, it won't traumatize me, and I know the layout of the Manor better than anyone else here. I'll be the most helpful should anything happen," Luna argued back.

It was times like these that reminded Harry that Luna had been a Ravenclaw not a Gryffindor. She'd been included in their group for so long; it was hard to remember that fact. "She's right," he announced to no one and everyone. He looked back at Hermione. "Luna will go with me to get Draco. Is that alright with you?"

Hermione looked relieved that he wouldn't be going alone. "Yes."

Rolf turned to Luna. This was the first time he'd ever seen the side of her that had joined the DA and rebelled against the Carrows. "Luna, I don't want you to get hurt."

Luna smiled at his worry. "Don't worry, Rolf. Harry will do everything he can to make sure I don't. Besides, he doesn't really think anything will happen, or he wouldn't willingly allow anyone to go."

Harry wondered if he would ever stop being surprised at how well Luna knew all of them. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Okay. Ron, you and Hermione go to Hogwarts for Hagrid and McGonagall. Luna and I will go to Malfoy Manor first. When we're done there, Luna will return, and I will go for Kingsley. Everyone got it?"

They all nodded. "What about Teddy and Victoire?" Fleur asked.

Harry thought for a moment. "The note said that we have to write the name of everyone who is going to read the book on the back of it and that time would stop for everyone else while those people read. If we leave them at Andromeda's, they won't know any different, but we'll have been without them for two or three days depending on how fast we read." He paused. "You decide, Fleur, you and Bill. If you want to go get them, do so while we're gone, but be sure to either get them both or leave them both. We should be fair."

With that, he walked over to Ginny and kissed her, wordlessly telling her that he loved her and would be back soon. After Luna had done the same to Rolf, they walked over and joined Hermione and Ron. Harry, as he passed, once again told Neville, "If Luna hasn't returned or you haven't heard from us in twenty minutes, come looking." Again, Neville nodded, proud that Harry trusted him so much.

Ron and Hermione joined hands, and Harry and Luna joined hands; at the same time, both pairs disapparated.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: None of the characters or bold text is mine!

Please don't expect updates this often on a usual bases. I don't have a lot of time to work on my stories. What college student does?

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CHAPTER FOUR

Harry and Luna landed outside the too familiar gates of Malfoy Manor. Harry was unsure how to get in. As Voldemort was no longer using this place as headquarters, he was unsure as to what he needed to do to be allowed into the Manor. However, his good luck decided to show itself as he heard a loud pop from behind him.

Habitually, Luna and Harry raised the wands. The man and woman who had apparated saw the raised wands and raised their own in defense. It only took a few seconds for the two parties to recognize each other. Harry slowly lowered his wand knowing Luna would follow his lead and that Draco's would not be lowered if his wasn't. As expected, once Draco saw Harry's wand lower, he lowered his own and saw Astoria follow his leave. He didn't know the reason for Harry's surprise visit and was not going to let Astoria get hurt, so he subtly stepped so that he was half-blocking her from view.

Harry noticed this and was quick to reassure Draco. "We're just here to talk, Draco. We have an invite to present to you and, of course, to your fiancé as well," he added, acknowledging the unknown women with a polite nod of his head.

Draco hesitated but could not bring himself to doubt Harry's words. After all, he had returned for him, an enemy at the time, in the Room of Requirement. "Come inside," Draco instructed.

Harry looked at Luna, and together they walked through the now opened gates. Once all four of them were inside, Draco led them to a drawing room. "Sit down," he told them as he did the same.

They sat in awkward silence. Harry did not know how to begin, and Draco wanted to know what Harry had to say. Astoria, deciding to move things along, spoke up. "I'm Astoria Greengrass," she said, extending her hand to Harry in greeting.

Harry shook her hand. "I'm Harry Potter, and this is Luna Lovegood," he added as Luna shook Astoria's outstretched hand as well. Harry, noticing that Draco was uncomfortable with the friendliness of his fiancé, decided to begin. "I suppose I'll give you a brief explanation and if you want details you can ask for them. So, we, meaning my family and I, were given a gift today by a stranger. It was a book that details the last year of Voldemort's reign." Draco flinched, but Harry ignored it. "We have all decided to read it together, but the stranger suggested that we ask you and Astoria to join us."

Draco was extremely surprised. "Me? You want _me_ to read this book with you? With your family there?"

Harry hastened to correct, knowing his answer was the truth that Draco wanted. "I wouldn't use the word 'want,' but yes. We, Ron, Hermione, and I, talked it over and decided that we think it would be a good experience for everyone and that you kind of deserve this chance at understanding"

"What do you mean I 'deserve' it?" Draco bristled. "What are you talking about?"

Harry had to prevent his smile from showing. "Whether you wish to admit it or not, Draco, you did try to help us during that year on more than one occasion."

Here, Astoria looked at Harry then at Draco and interjected. "You did?" she asked, showing no emotion but clearly demanding the truth from her soon-to-be-husband.

Draco looked at her and could not refuse the look on her face. "Yes," he spoke quietly, for her ears alone, fearing her reaction.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered back. And her face clearly showed that her words were the truth.

_She's good for him._ Harry was glad that Draco was building a better life for himself. He looked down at Fabian's old watch and saw that their twenty minutes were almost up. "So, Draco. What do you say? Do you want to find out what exactly happened that year?

Draco looked at Astoria. "I think you need closure. This will help you. Besides, this is an out for telling me your side of it. I imagine you won't have to tell me as much if we read," she whispered to him.

He heard the sincerity in her words and silently agreed. He turned to Harry. "We'll read."

Harry nodded. Looking at Luna, he said, "Take them back to the Burrow. I'm going to visit the Minister."

Luna smiled dreamily, "Alright."

All four exited the Manor and walked until they passed through the iron gates. Luna put one hand on Draco and one on Astoria. Together the three disapparated at the same time that Harry disapparated to the Ministry of Magic.

* * *

Only one more chapter until they start to actual read the book!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: None of the characters or bold text is mine!

Please don't expect updates this often on a usual bases. I don't have a lot of time to work on my stories. What college student does?

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

Upon entering the Ministry, Harry headed straight for Kingsley's office. After getting permission from the secretary to enter, he greeted Kingsley warmly.

"Harry, I thought today was your day off. What are you doing here?" Kingsley asked while shaking hands with Harry.

Harry smiled and said, "It was, but now I find myself running all over the place gathering people, including you, Minister."

"It's Kingsley, as I've told you before. And for what are you gathering people?"

Harry held back a chuckle. _Always straight to the point._ "Ron received a rather unusual birthday present this afternoon," he told Kingsley, purposefully being vague.

"Really? What was it?" the Minister inquired trying, and failing, to hide his curiosity.

Harry prepared himself for an unpleasant reaction to his words. "It was a book detailing what Hermione, Ron, and I did during the last year of the war."

Kingsley opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Harry continued, "The three of us discussed it and decided to invite several people to read it with us, and our family of course. We felt that you, both as a Minister of Magic that we trust and as a member of the Order, deserve to know the truth of what we did. So?"

Kingsley looked deep in thought. "What about my responsibilities as Minister? I can't just leave for a few days."

Harry had been expecting this question. "The person who sent the book also sent a letter saying that time will stop for anyone who is not reading with us. To everyone here at the Ministry and in the Wizarding World, you'll have been gone for ten, fifteen minutes."

The Minister thought for a moment. Finally having made a decision, he stepped out of his office, motioning for Harry to follow. He spoke to his secretary. "Carol, I'm stepping out for a bit. I'll be at the Burrow, Mr. Arthur Weasley's home, and I'll be back in no less than a half an hour."

"Yes, sir."

Together, Harry and Kingsley walked to the Apparation Point, turned on their heels, and apparated to the Burrow.

Walking up to the tables where his family was still gathered, Harry saw that a few more seats had been added to accommodate the new guests. Kingsley quickly claimed a seat next to McGonagall who was sitting next to Draco and Astoria. Hagrid was seated on a magically-strengthened chair next to Charlie whose was giving the half-giant an update on Norberta. Seeing Harry approach, the crowd quieted.

Noticing the absence of two children, he asked Fleur, "You decided against fetching Teddy and Victoire then?"

"Yes. They won't know the difference, and I suspect this won't be something that little ears need to hear."

Harry nodded. "You're probably right." His family and the others were still looking at him as if questioning what to do now. This was something that everyone did quite often since his defeat of Voldemort, but it was rare that his loved ones treated him like The Chosen One. He knew this signaled their nervousness and doubtfulness. Though he didn't always enjoy the fact that everyone turned to him, he didn't really mind it except when _he_ didn't know what to do anymore than anyone else did, like now. So, he did what he always does when uncertain of the next move; he turned to Hermione.

She smirked at his questioning face. "What makes you think that I know what to do now?" she questioned. But, truthfully, she loved that Ron and Harry always turned to her with their questions. It made her feel needed.

"Because you do," Harry replied with no doubt in his voice.

Hermione sighed. She couldn't argue with him when he was that sure. "We need to write everyone's names down."

Harry smiled and relaxed. "Right. Of course."

Hermione handed him the note and a quill. He flipped it over and carefully, making sure not to miss anyone, wrote down the name of everyone gathered around the table.

A moment after Harry finished his list, the note glowed and the people gathered felt a slight shift in the air.

Bill broke the thick silence. "I take it that means time's frozen?"

McGonagall replied, "I suspect so. I suppose we'll know for sure if, in an half an hour or so, people come looking for Kingsley, Hagrid, and myself."

During this short discussion, Harry had picked up the book and was examining the contents. He spoke up, immediately drawing all attention to himself. "Do we want to start the reading when the wedding was infiltrated, or do we want to start with me being picked up from the Dursleys'?" he asked the general assembly.

There was a short silence before Ginny said, "Well, I want to know what exactly happened that night, but most of you were there; if you'd rather not relive it, that's fine."

"Harry, do you think it's important? What I mean is: do you think it will help them understand something important?" Hermione questioned.

Harry thought for a moment. "Maybe the wand aspect of the story," he answered, ignoring the confused and questioning glances he was receiving. Though not many people had been near enough to hear Harry's final words to Voldemort, those that had heard, some of which were sitting in front of him, had not really paid attention to what he was saying and had quickly forgotten the information revealed. This was something that Harry was very glad about; he didn't need the knowledge that he was the master of the Elder Wand spread around.

Hermione nodded. "We best start with that then."

"Okay," Harry agreed. "Would anyone like to read first?"

To no one's surprise, Hermione was quick to volunteer. "I will," she said as she grabbed the book from Harry. After briefly scanning the first few paragraphs, she turned to her family and friends. "It starts before the Dursleys leave," she informed them. "Everyone ready?" They all nodded, and she began.

* * *

I know it's been a long build up, but they start reading the book next chapter! Finally. :)


	6. Chapter 6: The Dursleys Departing

I skipped "The Dark Lord Ascending" and "In Memoriam" because I really wanted to get to the "action." Besides, they're reading this after the fact; they don't need to be informed of Sirius's or Dumbledore's death.

Disclaimer: None of the characters or bold text is mine!

Please don't expect updates this often on a usual bases. I don't have a lot of time to work on my stories. What college student does?

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

"**The Dursleys Departing**," Hermione read

Harry cringed, but no one noticed. He hadn't thought about the information about his upbringing that might be brought up. _Oh, well. It's too late now._

**The sound of the front door slamming echoed up the stairs and a voice roared, "Oh! You!"**

"Have they forgotten your name, You?" George joked.

**Sixteen years of being addressed thus left Harry in no doubt when his uncle was calling,**

"Excuse me. What does that mean? Harry?" Ginny questioned.

Harry did not respond but signaled for Hermione to keep reading.

**nevertheless, he did not immediately respond. **

Hermione interrupted herself. "Of course not. Listening to authority has never been a strength of Harry."

Harry saw Hermione's words as they were: an attempt to ease the tension that had formed and put an offended expression on his face.

Hermione laughed before beginning to read again.

**He was still at the narrow fragment in which, for a split second, he had thought he saw Dumbledore's eye. **

Harry began to explain before anyone could ask. "I thought I saw Dumbledore's eye in a piece of the mirror that serious gave me. Apparently, we skipped that part."

**It was not until his uncle bellowed, "BOY!" **

Ginny huffed.

**that Harry got slowly out of bed and headed for the bedroom door, pausing to add the piece of broken mirror to the rucksack filled with things he would be taking with him**.

"Why?" Bill asked.

Harry shrugged. "Probably because it was a tangible connection to Sirius."

"**You took you time!" roared Vernon Dursley when Harry appeared at the top of the stairs, "Get down here. I want a word!"**

**Harry strolled downstairs, his hands deep in his pants pockets. When he searched the living room he found all three Dursleys. They were dressed for packing; Uncle Vernon in an old ripped-up jacket and Dudley, Harry's, large, blond, muscular cousin, in his leather jacket.**

"**Yes?" asked Harry.**

"**Sit down!" said Uncle Vernon. Harry raised his eyebrows. "Please!" added Uncle Vernon, wincing slightly as though the word was sharp in his throat.**

"Eet probably was," Fleur commented.

"I hope it was," Ginny said at the same time.

**Harry sat. He thought he knew what was coming. His uncle began to pace up and down, Aunt Petunia and Dudley, following his movement with anxious expressions. Finally, his large purple face **

_That'd be a good idea for the shop, something that changes a person's face different colors,_ George thought

**crumpled with concentration. Uncle Vernon stopped in front of Harry and spoke.**

**"I've changed my mind," he said.**

**"What a surprise," said Harry.**

**"Don't you take that tone—" began Aunt Petunia in a shrill voice, but Vernon Dursley waved her down**

**"It's all a lot of claptrap," said Uncle Vernon, glaring at Harry with piggy little eyes. "I've decided I don't believe a word of it. We're staying put, we're not going anywhere."**

**Harry looked up at his uncle and felt a mixture of exasperation and amusement. Vernon Dursley had been changing his mind every twenty four hours for the past four weeks, packing and unpacking and repacking the car with every change of heart.**

"It's a good thing that you're a patient person, Harry; otherwise, who knows what would have happened to them," Luna said sincerely.

**Harry's favorite moment had been the one when Uncle Vernon, unaware the Dudley had added his dumbbells to his case since the last time it been repacked, had attempted to hoist it back into the boot and collapsed with a yelp of pain and much swearing.**

"**According to you," Vernon Dursley said, now resuming his pacing up and down the living room, "we – Petunia, Dudley, and I – are in danger. From – from –"**

"**Some of 'my lot' right?" said Harry.**

"Excuse me?!" Draco spoke up for the first time, immediately regretting it as every eye looked towards him.

Harry tried to save him saying, "Looking back, I suppose that Vernon and Petunia are, in their own ignorant way, muggle death eaters."

No one had a response to that, so Hermione began to read again.

**"Well I don't believe it," repeated Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt in front of Harry again. "I was awake half the night thinking it all over, and I believe it's a plot to get the house."**

**"The house?" repeated Harry. "What house?"**

**"This house!" shrieked Uncle Vernon, the vein his forehead starting to pulse. "Our house! House prices are skyrocketing around here! You want us out of the way and then you're going to do a bit of hocus pocus and before we know it the deeds will be in your name and –"**

**"Are you out of your mind?" demanded Harry. "A plot to get this house? Are you actually as stupid as you look?"**

"Yes," Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Draco, Luna, George, Angelina, Percy, Audrey, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie said together.

**"Don't you dare -!" squealed Aunt Petunia, but again Vernon waved her down. Slights on his personal appearance were it seemed as nothing to the danger he had spotted.**

**"Just in case you've forgotten," said Harry, "I've already got a house my godfather left me one. So why would I want this one? All the happy memories?"**

Ginny looked close to tears. _It's just the hormones, _she told herself. _I haven't gone soft._ "Do you have any 'happy memories' there?" she asked Harry softly, though everyone heard.

Harry thought for a moment, taking her question seriously. Ginny loved that about Harry; he always took her seriously. "No, I don't think I do. Maybe some funny ones but not happy ones."

"What about getting your Hogwarts letter?" Hermione asked, knowing that that was one of her happiest memories.

Harry chuckled. "Well, I'm sure it would have been had I actually received it in that house." Harry turned to share a smile with Hagrid. "But I didn't. Really, thinking again, I suppose the two times that Ron and the twins broke me out count as happy ones," he smiled as he remembered; Ron and George smiled too.

**There was silence. Harry thought he had rather impressed his uncle with this argument.**

**"You claim," said Uncle Vernon, starting to pace yet again, "that this Lord Thing –"**

**"—Voldemort," said Harry impatiently, "and we've been through this about a hundred times already. This isn't a claim, it's fact. Dumbledore told you last year, and Kingsley and Mr. Weasley –"**

**Vernon Dursley hunched his shoulders angrily, and Harry guessed that his uncle was attempting to ward off recollections of the unannounced visit, a few days into Harry's summer holidays, of two fully grown wizards. The arrival on the doorstep of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley had come as a most unpleasant shock to the Dursleys.**

"Why?" Astoria asked.

Hermione continued to read having seen that the answer was in the story.

** Harry had to admit, however that as Mr. Weasley had once demolished half of the living room, his reappearance could not have been expected to delight Uncle Vernon.**

"Oh," Astoria said.

At the same time, Molly screeched, "When did this happen, Arthur?"

Harry interrupted, "Mum, it's not as bad as it sounds. Really, it was an accident."

Molly softened when he called her 'Mum'.

**"—Kingsley and Mr. Weasley explained it all as well," Harry pressed on remorselessly, "Once I'm seventeen, the protective charm that keeps me safe will break, and that exposes you as well as me. The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage I'd come and try to rescue you."**

**Uncle Vernon's and Harry's eyes met. Harry was sure that in that instant they were both wondering the same thing. Then Uncle Vernon walked on and Harry resumed, "You've got to go into hiding and the Order wants to help. You're being offered serious protection, the best there is."**

**Uncle Vernon said nothing but continued to pace up and down. Outside the sun hung low over the privet hedges. The next door neighbor's lawn mower stalled again.**

**"I thought there was a Ministry of Magic?" asked Vernon Dursley abruptly.**

**"There is," said Harry, surprised.**

**"Well, then, why can't they protect us? **

"That would have been the opposite of helpful," Angelina interrupts.

**It seems to me that, as innocent victims, guilty of nothing more than harboring a marked man, we ought to qualify for government protection!"**

**Harry laughed; he could not help himself. It was so very typical of his uncle to put his hopes in the establishment, even within this world that he despised and mistrusted.**

**"You heard what Mr. Weasley and Kingsley said," Harry replied.** **"We think the Ministry has been infiltrated."**

**Uncle Vernon strode back to the fireplace and back breathing so strongly that his great black mustache rippled his face still purple with concentration.**

**"All right," he said. Stopping in front of Harry get again. "All right, let's say for the sake of argument we accept this protection. I still don't see why we can't have that Kingsley bloke."**

"Should I be flattered or offended?" Kingsley questioned Harry.

"Well, that's the nicest they've ever talked about a wizard, so…flattered."

**Harry managed not to roll his eyes, but with difficulty. This question had also been addressed half a dozen times.**

**"As I've told you," he said through gritted teeth, "Kingsley is protecting the Mug – I mean, your Prime Minister."**

**"Exactly – he's the best!" said Uncle Vernon, pointing at the blank television screen. The Dursleys had spotted Kingsley on the news, walking along the Muggle Prime Minister as he visited a hospital. This, and the fact that Kingsley had mastered the knack of dressing like a Muggle, not to mention a certain reassuring something in his slow, deep voice, had caused the Dursleys to take to Kingsley in a way that they had certainly not done with any other wizard, although it was true that they had never seen him with earring in.**

Kingsley laughed.

**"Well, he's taken," said Harry. "But Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle are more than up to the job –"**

**"If we'd even seen CVs…" began Uncle Vernon, but Harry lost patience. Getting to his feet, he advanced on his uncle, not pointing at the TV set himself.**

**"These accidents aren't accidents – the crashed and explosions and derailments and whatever else has happened since we last watched the news. People are disappearing and dying and he's behind it – Voldemort. I've told you this over and over again, he kills Muggles for fun. Even the fogs – they're caused by dementors, and if you can't remember what they are, ask your son!"**

Those few who didn't know about the dementor attack on Harry looked questionably at him.

"Before fifth year, my cousin and I were attacked by dementors."

**Dudley's hands jerked upward to tower his mouth. With his parents' and Harry's eyes upon him, he slowly lowered them again and asked, "There are… more of them?"**

**"More?" laughed Harry. "More than the two that attacked us, you mean? Of course there are hundreds, maybe thousands by this time, seeing as they feed off fear and despair—"**

Everyone cringed.

**"All right, all right," blustered Vernon Dursley. "You've made your point –"**

**"I hope so," said Harry, "because once I'm seventeen, all of them – Death Eaters, Dementors, maybe even Inferi – which means dead bodies enchanted by a Dark wizard – will be able to find you and will certainly attack you. And if you remember the last time you tried to outrun wizards, I think you'll agree you need help."**

**There was a brief silence in which the distant echo of Hagrid smashing down a wooden front door seemed to reverberate through the intervening years. **

Hagrid chuckled deeply, but he and Harry ignored the curious looks of the others.

**Aunt Petunia was looking at Uncle Vernon; Dudley was staring at Harry. Finally Uncle Vernon blurted out, "But what about my work? What about Dudley's school? I don't suppose those things matter to a bunch of layabout wizards –"**

The Order members looked offended at this.

**"Don't you understand?" shouted Harry. "They will torture and kill you like they did my parents!"**

**"Dad," said Dudley in a loud voice, "Dad – I'm going with these Order people."**

**"Dudley," said Harry, "for the first time in your life, you're talking sense."**

**He knew the battle was won. If Dudley was frightened enough to accept the Order's help, his parents would accompany him. There could be no question of being separated from their Duddykins. Harry glanced at the carriage clock on the mantelpiece.**

**"They'll be here in about five minutes, he said, and when none of the Dursleys replied, he left the room. The prospect of parting—probably forever – from his aunt, uncle, and cousin was one that he was able to contemplate quite cheerfully but there was nevertheless a certain awkwardness in the air. What did you say to one another at the end of sixteen years' solid dislike?**

George started to open his mouth, but Angelina quickly interrupted him. "Keep reading, Hermione."

**Back in his bedroom, Harry fiddled aimlessly with his rucksack then poked a couple of owl nuts through the bats of Hedwig's cage. They fell with dull thuds to the bottom where she ignored them.**

**"We're leaving soon, really soon," Harry told her. "And then you'll be able to fly again."**

**The doorbell rang. Harry hesitated, then headed back out of his room and downstairs. It was too much to expect Hestia and Dedalus to cope with the Dursleys on their own.**

"That was nice of you, Harry," Luna said sincerely.

**"Harry Potter!" squeaked an excited voice, the moment Harry had opened the door; a small man in a mauve top hat that was sweeping him a deep bow. "An honor as ever!"**

**"Thanks, Dedalus," said Harry, bestowing a small and embarrassed smile upon the dark haired Hestia. "It's really good of you to do this… They're through here, my aunt and uncle and cousin…"**

**"Good day to you, Harry Potter's relatives!" said Dedalus happily striding into the living room. **

"I bet they loved that," George laughed.

**The Dursleys did not look at all happy to be addressed thus; Harry half expected another change of mind. Dudley shrank neared to his mother at the sight of the witch and wizard.**

**"I see you are packed and ready. Excellent! The plan, as Harry has told you, is a simple one," said Dedalus, pulling an immense pocket watch out of his waistcoat and examining it. "We shall be leaving before Harry does. Due to the danger of using magic in your house –Harry being still underage it could provide the Ministry with an excuse to arrest him –** **we shall be driving, say, ten miles or so before Disapparating to the safe location we have picked out for you. You know how to drive, I take it?" He asked Uncle Vernon politely.**

**"Know how to –? Of course I ruddy well know how to drive!" spluttered Uncle Vernon.**

**"Very clever of you, sir, very clever. I personally would be utterly bamboozled by all those buttons and knobs," said Dedalus. He was clearly under the impression that he was flattering Vernon Dursley, who was visibly losing confidence in the plan with every word Dedalus spoke.**

**"Can't even drive," he muttered under his breath, his mustache rippling indignantly, but fortunately neither Dedalus nor Hestia seemed to hear him.**

**"You, Harry," Dedalus continued, "will wait here for your guard. There has been a little change in the arrangements –"**

"**What d'you mean?" said Harry at once. "I thought Mad-Eye was going to come and take me by Side Along-Apparition?"**

**"Can't do it," said Hestia tersely, "Mad-Eye will explain."**

**The Dursleys, who had listened to all of this with looks of utter incomprehension on their faces, jumped as a loud voice screeched, "Hurry up!" Harry looked all around the room before realizing the voice had issued from Dedalus's pocket watch.**

**"Quite right, were operating to a very tight schedule," said Dedalus nodding at his watch and tucking it back into his waist coat. "We are attempting to time your departure from the house with your family's Disapparition, Harry thus the charm breaks the moment you all head for safety." He turned to the Dursleys, "Well, are we all packed and ready to go?"**

**None of them answered him. Uncle Vernon was still staring appalled at the bulge in Dedalus's waistcoat pocket.**

George guffawed, but Angelina kept him from commenting.

**"Perhaps we should wait outside in the hall, Dedalus," murmured Hestia. She clearly felt that it would be tactless for them to remain the room while Harry and the Dursleys exchanged loving, possibly tearful farewells.**

**"There's no need," Harry muttered, but Uncle Vernon made any further explanation unnecessary by saying loudly,**

**"Well, this is good-bye then boy."**

**He swung his right arm upward to shake Harry's hand, but at the last moment seemed unable to face it, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome.**

**"Ready, Duddy?" asked Petunia, fussily checking the clasp of her handbag so as to avoid looking at Harry altogether.**

**Dudley did not answer but stood there with his mouth slightly ajar, reminding Harry a little of the giant, Grawp.**

**"Come along, then," said Uncle Vernon.**

**He had already reached the living room door when Dudley mumbled, "I don't understand."**

George snorted. "He doesn't understand how to walk out a door?"

Harry snickered.

**"What don't you understand, popkin?" asked Petunia looking up at her son.**

**Dudley raised a large, hamlike hand to point at Harry.**

**"Why isn't he coming with us?**

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia froze when they stood staring at Dudley as though he had just expressed a desire to become a ballerina.**

Bill, Charlie, George, and Ron laughed.

**"What?" said Uncle Vernon loudly.**

**"Why isn't he coming too?" asked Dudley.**

**"Well, he—doesn't want to," said Uncle Vernon, turning to glare at Harry and adding, "You don't want to, do you?"**

**"Not in the slightest," said Harry.**

**"There you are," Uncle Vernon told Dudley. "Now come on we're off."**

**He marched out of the room. They heard the front door open, but Dudley did not move and after a few faltering steps Aunt Petunia stopped too.**

**"What now?" barked Uncle Vernon, reappearing in the doorway.**

**It seemed that Dudley was struggling with concepts too difficult to put into words. After several moments of apparently painful internal struggle he said, "But where's he going to go?"**

"He's worried about you?" Hermione questioned.

**Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other. It was clear that Dudley was frightening them. Hestia Jones broke the silence.**

**"But… surely you know where your nephew is going?" she asked looking bewildered.**

**"Certainly we know," said Vernon Dursley. "He's off with some of your lot, isn't he? **

Draco huffed.

**Right, Dudley, let's get in the car, you heard the man, we're in a hurry."**

**Again, Vernon Dursley marched as far as the front door, but Dudley did not follow.**

**"Off with some of our lot?"**

**Hestia looked outraged. **

"She should be," Ginny stated.

**Harry had met this attitude before witches and wizards seemed stunned that his closest living relatives took so little interest in the famous Harry Potter.**

**"It's fine," Harry assured her. "It doesn't matter, honestly."**

**"Doesn't matter?" repeated Hestia, her voice rising considerably.**

**"Don't these people realize what you've been through? What danger you are in? The unique position you hold in the hearts of the anti Voldemort movement?"**

**"Er –no, they don't," said Harry. "They think I'm a waste of space, actually but I'm used to –"**

Hermione and Ginny looked close to tears. "Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered.

Harry hugged Ginny close and looked at Hermione. "Honestly, Hermione. I'm okay. You and the rest of the people around this table more than make up for them."

Hermione smiled a little and continued.

**"I don't think you're a waste of space"**

**If Harry had not seen Dudley's lips move, he might not have believed it. As it was, he stared at Dudley for several seconds before accepting that it must have been his cousin who had spoken; for one thing, Dudley had turned red. Harry was embarrassed and astonished himself.**

**"Well... er… thanks, Dudley."**

**Again, Dudley appeared to grapple with thoughts too unwieldy for expression before mumbling, "You saved my life,"**

**"Not really," said Harry. "It was your soul the dementor would have taken…"**

Hermione was exasperated. "Harry," she huffed.

**He looked curiously at his cousin. They had had virtually no contact during this summer or last, as Harry had come back to Privet Drive so briefly and kept to his room so much. It now dawned on Harry, however, that the cup of cold tea on which he had trodden that morning might not have been a booby trap at all. Although rather touched he was nevertheless quite relieved that Dudley appeared to have exhausted his ability to express his feelings. After opening his mouth once or twice more, Dudley subsided into scarlet-faced silence.**

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears. Hestia Jones gave her an approving look that changed to outrage as Aunt Petunia ran forward and embraced Dudley rather than Harry.**

"That woman!" Ginny seemed on her last nerve.

**"S-so sweet, Dudders…" she sobbed into his massive chest. "S-such a lovely b-boy… s-saying thank you…"**

**"But he hasn't said thank you at all!" said Hestia indignantly. "He only said he didn't think Harry was a waste of space!"**

**"Yea but coming from Dudley that's like 'I love you,'" said Harry, torn between annoyance and a desire to laugh as Aunt Petunia continued to clutch at Dudley as if he had just saved Harry from a burning building.**

**"Are we going or not?" roared Uncle Vernon, reappearing yet again at the living room door. "I thought we were on a tight schedule!"**

**"Yes–yes, we are," said Dedalus Diggle, who had been watching these exchanged with an air of bemusement and now seemed to pull himself together. "We really must be off. Harry –"**

**He tripped forward and wrung Harry's hand with both of his own.**

**"—good luck. I hope we meet again. The hopes of the Wizarding world rest upon your shoulders."**

"No pressure or anything," Bill said sarcastically.

**"Oh," said Harry, "right. Thanks."**

**"Farewell, Harry," said Hestia also clasping his hand. "Our thoughts go with you."**

**"I hope everything's okay," said Harry with a glance toward Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

**"Oh I'm sure we shall end up the best of chums," **

"I doubt it," George commented.

**said Diggle slightly, waving his hat as he left the room. Hestia followed him.**

**Dudley gently released himself from his mother's clutches and walked toward Harry who had to repress an urge to threaten him with magic. **

**Then Dudley held out his large, pink hand.**

**"Blimey, Dudley," said Harry over Aunt Petunia's renewed sobs, "did the dementors blow a different personality into you?"**

**"Dunno," muttered Dudley, "See you, Harry."**

**"Yea …" said Harry, raking Dudley's hand and shaking it. "Maybe. Take care, Big D."**

**Dudley nearly smiled. They lumbered from the room. Harry heard his heavy footfalls on the graveled drive, and then a car door slammed.**

**Aunt Petunia whose face had been buried in her handkerchief looked around at the sound. She did not seem to have expected to find herself alone with Harry. Hastily stowing her wet handkerchief into her pocket, she said, "Well – good-bye" and marched towards the door without looking at him.**

**"Good-bye" said Harry.**

**She stopped and looked back. For a moment Harry had the strangest feeling that she wanted to say something to him; She gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but then, with a little of her head, she hustled out of the room after he husband and son.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Hermione said. "Who wants to read next?"


End file.
